Here is an intense survival adventure thriller starring Blake Lively in the lead.

The premises of The Shallows is very simple. A surfer who goes by the name Nancy goes to a secret beach in Mexico wanting to relive her mother’s memories and since her friend backs off at the last moment she has to do it all alone.

In the course of her surf experience, she finds herself caught in the sea after being attacked by a giant white shark. She is just a couple of hundred yards away from the shore, but it's not going to be easy way home. This riveting thriller is told in a runtime of less than 90 minutes.

Now let's see what it has to offer its audience.

So what are the odds?

It's a secretive beach; she is stranded in the middle of the sea wounded and with a giant shark looking to hunt her for a juicy meal. Nancy cannot give up and tries to survive as long as she can. To do that, she needs to bring all her skills to play.

The entire film is shot in an open sea with very minimal characters. The maker deserves to be appreciated for keeping the audience hooked on with the available resources, but on the other hand, there is hardly anything new in it.

Blake Lively is the only character that travels throughout and she has given a responsible performance knowing what is expected out of her. Her character is in constant pain and fear and not for one moment she looks like faking it.

You will experience a few adrenaline pumping moments once in every ten minutes. The director brings in a few characters to keep the screenplay moving. Though it does not add too much strength, it gives an occasional relief to an otherwise serious script.

The biggest plus has to be the visuals. You are just shown an open sea with just one woman flaunting her bikini but no single shot is repeated twice. Few underwater shots are brilliantly done, although one might have expected to see a lot more close up shots of the shark. The script is adequately supported by the musical team who also knows the importance of silence.

Overall The Shallows is an easily accessible gripping shark thriller that does not break any grounds.